In such an inventive and industrious place as the San Francisco Bay Area, supporting local businesses isn't exactly a no-brainer—how do you parse which of the many upstarts to grace with your hard-won dollars? Here to help, we've combed Kickstarter for five local projects worthy of your support this month.

Living in San Francisco, there's such a strong focus on finding the perfect home that it's easy to forget the importance of what you put inside it once you close the deal. Presidio Classics simplifies and streamlines the process of sourcing window treatments, focusing on hand-woven, natural-fiber window shade designs that will give your apartment or home a natural glow.

For this week’s Scenes of the City, Burning Man cofounder John Law, who referred to himself as the "Quasimodo” of the Tribune Tower, takes us to the top of downtown Oakland's 305-foot Tribune Tower, which is steeped in history and mystery.

Billed as a place that's "a direct reflection of Facebook's open and transparent culture," Facebook employees moved into their new headquarters today. Why so special? For starters, the new Menlo Park campus (heretofore known as "MPK20") was designed by Frank Ghery (NYC's 8 Spruce Street, LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall), and it features a half-mile loop through nine acres of greenery. What's more, much like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sartorial efforts, the new digs are consciously dressed down.

It's no surprise that El Techo de Lolinda's chicharrones de carne are the stuff of legend. While inspired by Latin street food, these crispy morsels are not your basic sidewalk cracklins—El Techo's chicharrones are roasted and fried chunks of pork shoulder, and taste best when shared with your friends over a long (and margarita-filled) evening. Bottoms up.

If you can't imagine life without a formal dining room, breakfast room, library, seven bedrooms, and a basement (do they even have those in San Francisco?), then this three-story Presidio Heights home is your perfect match. Clocking in at a cool $7.2 million, you'll net one of the most affordable homes in Presidio Heights (yep). Just don't tell your neighbors.

As someone who grew up in two deeply spiritual locations (Hawaii and New Mexico), swings a pendulum for clarity on yes-or-no quandaries, consults two different decks of oracle cards, and employs a psychic, seeing a shaman was hardly out of the realm of my New Age adventures.

House of Cards met the House of Dior at the Legion of Honor on Friday night when actress Kata Mara showed up at the Fine Arts Museums of SF's annual Mid-Winter Gala wearing a strapless tea length dress from the legendary couture house's fall 2013 haute couture collection.

Earlier this year, we introduced you to seven local leaders who are shaking things up in the fields of education, sustainability, and community development. Inspired by their contributions, we collaborated with the University of Oregon to launch the Vanguard Award, dedicated to shedding light on community members who are revolutionizing the status quo.

In early March, you nominated hundreds of gamechanging locals who are working to make the Bay Area a better place and deserve to win the Vanguard Award. We've narrowed down the field to seven finalists, and now it's time to determine the winner.